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Despite being affordable to buy, both Alcatel smartphones have reliable performances, gorgeous looking displays, strong battery lives and they both also don’t disappoint when it comes to gaming performance.
This is why today, I really want to compare Alcatel Flash Plus against Alcatel Flash 2. I want to show you what makes any of these devices better against each other and what’s disappointing about any of them.
Well, if you’re also interested to see how the comparison between these 2 awesome smartphones goes, then here check this one out, my comparison review between Alcatel Flash Plus and Alcatel Flash 2.
Introduction
I actually bought it for only around $150 when it first came out, which is really cheap compared to my previous Alcatel Flash Plus that still costs around $180 right now.
You're probably wondering why I switched my Alcatel Flash Plus to Alcatel Flash 2, right?
Well, to tell you the truth, there’s actually nothing wrong about Alcatel Flash Plus. In fact, it is probably the best smartphone I’ve ever had in my entire life.
It has a sharp and gorgeous HD display (really really gorgeous), a fast smooth performance, solid battery life, elegant design, amazingly sharp cameras, it’s really amazing for playing games and everything about it is just great.
The main reason why I decided to sell my Alcatel Flash Plus phablet and switch it to Alcatel Flash 2 was actually because its size.
After using this phone for around 7 months, I felt that this phablet was too big for me, especially for my tiny hands. Not to mention, it also always made me feel so uncomfortable when putting this huge phone in my pocket.
Not to mention, I was also quite disappointed when I heard that Alcatel would not release the official Android Lollipop OS for Alcatel Flash Plus, although it’s still upgradable by using unofficial Lollipop custom ROM (LEWA OS).
My first impression of this smartphone is, it feels really compact – not too big and not too small -, it’s really thin and light in weight, and it’s also not very exhausting to hold in the hand even for few hours. So it definitely will be ideal to use especially for watching movies or playing games.
However, despite being a great compact smartphone, of course Alcatel Flash 2 still has its own flaws, especially compared to Alcatel Flash Plus. But we’ll dive deeper into that in a minute.
One thing that is so amazing about Alcatel Flash 2 is, despite being a low-cost $150 smartphone, Alcatel Flash 2 really excels in many ways, from design, battery life and even gaming performance as well.
And this is amazing because it’s still rare to see great well-rounded smartphones around $150 price range that just don't suck especially in gaming performance, battery life, design and build quality.
But the real questions are: between the 2, which one is more powerful in gaming performance? Which one is better in the whole aspect? Is it worth to buy any of these phones right now?
Well, we’re about to get those questions answered right at the end of this post. So you better read on!
Pros and Cons
Alcatel Flash Plus
Pros:
- gorgeous looking HD screen
- decent cameras
- great battery life
- powerful for playing any games
- the glossy gold variant looks elegant and feels premium
- LEWA UI offers better RAM management
- It comes with a great quality earphone
- It doesn't get updated to Lollipop OS
- It's huge
- there's no LED flash on the front, only on the rear camera
Alcatel Flash 2
Pros:
- powerful for playing games
- gorgeous looking HD display
- great battery life
- elegant and unique design
- expandable with microSD card up to 128GB
- rear camera is great for recording full HD videos
- upgradable to Marshmallow OS
- photos look grainy
- gaming performance is less powerful than Alcatel Flash Plus
- available RAM in default is only 1GB
Design
As mentioned above, yes, the main reason why I decided to switch from Alcatel Flash Plus to Alcatel Flash 2 was because this phablet was just too huge for me. And I’m a person with small hands. So as you might expect, of course Alcatel Flash Plus was just not really ideal for me.
However, despite being a huge phablet, Alcatel Flash Plus actually doesn’t disappoint when it comes to design. In fact, I’ve gotta say that this phablet still looks really elegant and premium, even though this phone uses glossy finish.
Alcatel Flash Plus consists in 2 variants of colors: Glossy Gold and Slate Blue. I of course picked up the gold one mainly because gold smartphones tend to have stable selling price even after a few months of using, especially compared to non-gold smartphones.
And it’s true because I managed to re-sell it for around $150, which is not really far from the initial price when I first got it ($180).
The great thing about the design of Alcatel Flash Plus is, despite being a huge device, this phone amazingly still feels really thin and light in weight. And it’s just really comfortable and not exhausting to hold this phone single-handedly, even for long hours.
I also love that this phone uses chamfered edges all around the rear case, which is unique and really rare to see on low-budget smartphones. This of course makes this phone look more elegant and premium.
Alcatel Flash Plus uses unibody design, so you cannot open the rear case of this phone. The good thing, the slots for SIM cards and microSD card are placed on the left and right sides. But opening these slots is a bit tricky because you need to use this specific tray opener, which comes with the phone.
This is way different with Alcatel Flash 2 that has removable rear case (although its battery is non-removable). So if you want to insert the SIM cards and microSD card, you need to open the rear cover because all the slots are placed on the back.
In terms of design and build quality, Alcatel Flash 2 is actually on the same level with Alcatel Flash Plus. This phone may not come in gold when I first got it, but the good thing is, you can switch the rear case of this phone to either Gold and White which both are sold officially by Alcatel for around $7 at online stores.
There are many elements on its design that make me fall in love with this Alcatel Flash 2.
First, I love the 2 sharp chrome bezels found on the front side of the screen, totally giving a modern and sophisticated look to this phone. This actually kind of reminds me with the design of Sony Ericsson S700i that also uses 2-color layer on the front side (silver chrome and black).
The other thing that I love the most from its design is definitely its chrome metallic trimming found all around the side of this device, which is really thin and not as thick as the chrome trimming on Samsung GALAXY S4 for example. So it makes it look quite unique than any other phones out there.
The curved physical buttons on Alcatel Flash 2 (power button, volume rocker and shutter key) are also my favorite because they are really comfortable to press and also have good tactile feedback. These buttons are placed inline with the chrome metallic trimming on the right side of this phone.
Overall, I think Alcatel Flash 2 is just top notch in both design and build quality. It may not be made out of metal just like iPhone 7 or the new-gen Alcatel Flash Plus 2. But this phone is really successful in delivering a pleasing and convenient experience to its users.
Between the 2, I’ve gotta say that Alcatel Flash Plus comes out as the winner here in terms of design and build quality. It looks elegant with glossy gold finish, it’s really thin and light in weight and it amazingly feels very comfortable to hold in the hand, despite being a huge phablet.
However, Alcatel Flash 2 is actually not too shabby at all when it comes to design. As a matter of fact, this phone looks quite unique and has its own characteristics compared to any other phones out there. Not to mention, it’s also more compact and ergonomic than Alcatel Flash Plus thanks to its smaller screen size.
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| Alcatel OneTouch Flash Plus | Alcatel Flash 2 |
|---|---|
| Released 2015, May Dual SIM (4G and 3G) 5.5 inches, 720 x 1280 pixels resolution with~267 ppi pixel density, 16M colors Multitouch Android OS 4.4.4 KitKat (LEWA OS) 2 GB RAM Mediatek MT6752M Chipset Octa-core 1.5 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU Mali-T760MP2 GPU 16 GB internal storage microSD card slot for up to 32 GB 13 MP rear-facing camera with autofocus and LED flash 8 MP front-facing camera 3.5mm jack Wi-Fi 802.11 Bluetooth v4.0 GPS FM radio microUSB v2.0 Accelerometer, proximity, compass Sensors No Java Removable Li-Ion 3500 mAh battery | Released in September 2015 Dual SIM 4G and 3G (Micro-SIM) 5.0 inches 720 x 1280 pixels (~294 ppi pixel density), 16M colors IPS LCD capacitive touchscreen Multitouch for up to 5 fingers Stock Android OS 5.1 Lollipop 2 GB RAM Mediatek MT6753 Chipset Octa-core 1.3 GHz Cortex-A53 CPU Mali-T720MP3 GPU microSD external card slot for up to 256 GB Internal 16 GB 13 MP rear-facing camera with f/2.0 apperture and dual-LED (dual tone) flash 5 MP front facing camera with LED flash 3.5mm jack Wi-Fi 802.11 Bluetooth v4.0 GPS microUSB v2.0 USB Accelerometer, proximity Sensors No Java Non-removable Li-Ion 3000 mAh battery Available in 2 different rear covers: Volcanic Grey, Mica White |
Alcatel Flash Plus cost me around $180 when I first got it a year ago (2015). Meanwhile, I bought Alcatel Flash 2 for only $150. So it’s pretty obvious which one's got the better specs here. And it’s true because Alcatel Flash Plus indeed looks more promising when it comes to specs than its sibling.
It comes with a larger 5.5-inch screen sporting the 720p resolution, better 8MP and 13MP cameras back and front, a bigger 3500mAh battery, a more powerful gaming performance thanks to Mediatek octa-core MT6752 processor, Mali T-760 MP2 and 2GB of RAM, as well as dual-SIM support and 4G LTE speed.
However, as a low-cost smartphone, Alcatel Flash 2 actually still looks impressive with the specs it comes with. In fact, I think this phone doesn't deserve its low price because its specs are still better than any other mid-end smartphones in $200 price range.
I even think that this phone is probably the best smartphone in $150 price range. I know that Xiaomi has some great phones in this price range, like Redmi 2S for example. But overall, I think Alcatel Flash 2 is still a better offering than Xiaomi’s devices.
It has a gorgeous 5-inch screen with 720p resolution, an octa-core MT6753 processor, Mali T-720 MP3, 2GB of RAM, 13MP and 5MP cameras back and front, 4G LTE internet speed, dual-SIM support, dual-LED flash lights front and back, 3000mAh battery and the most importantly, it comes with Android Lollipop OS out of the box (upgradable to Marshmallow 6.0 OS).
Compared to its sibling, of course Alcatel Flash 2 is not any powerful in gaming performance and definitely not any sharper in cameras.
However, as a low-cost smartphone, I think Alcatel Flash 2 still has something better to offer than Alcatel Flash Plus, like dual-LED lights front and back and the latest Android version, Lollipop OS, which Alcatel Flash Plus really lacks on.
Screen
One of the best things found on both Alcatel Flash Plus and Alcatel Flash 2 is definitely their screens. They may not come with 1080p resolution just like other high-end phones out there, but 720p resolution actually still looks sharp on a screen around 5 to 6-inches.
In terms of sharpness, of course Alcatel Flash 2 looks a bit better here on paper than its sibling given its smaller 5-inch screen that has higher -294 ppi of pixel density, as opposed to Alcatel Flash Plus that comes with -267ppi on its larger 5.5-inch display.
But in the real world performance, it's actually Alcatel Flash Plus that looks much sharper and more pleasing to look at with its screen. And that's mainly because this phablet comes with a customized LEWA UI, as opposed to Alcatel Flash 2 that is running on stock Android UI with no customization at all.
So everything on the homescreen, like app icons and stock wallpapers are shown in HD resolution, unlike the stock Android UI of Flash 2 that just doesn't look sharp especially on the homescreen. However, the sharpness of screen on Alcatel Flash 2 can still be seen when watching HD videos or playing HD games.
But overall, the screens of both devices actually still look really gorgeous and sharp with great color saturation on them. So the colors look popping out and the viewing angles are also pretty good.
User Interface/Software
On software side, I’ve gotta say that both Alcatel Flash Plus and Alcatel Flash 2 have their own strengths as well as weaknesses. And it’s cool because if you pick any of them, you’ll get a totally different experience out of their UI.
Alcatel Flash Plus comes with Android Kitkat OS out of the box with LEWA OS layering on top of it. Meanwhile, Alcatel Flash 2 looks simpler with the stock UI based on Android Lollipop OS. So there will be less customization found on Alcatel Flash 2 than its sibling.
And that’s true because the LEWA UI on Alcatel Flash Plus is heavily customized then the UI on Alcatel Flash 2.
It has different app icons, different ‘Recent Apps’ screen, different visual interface on all pre-installed apps and it also doesn’t have app drawer. So all the installed apps will be added automatically on the homescreen, similar just like on iOS of iPhones.
On the other hand, the stock UI on Android Lollipop OS of Alcatel Flash 2 of course looks really standard just like any other devices with stock Android UIs. The stock wallpapers, the ‘Recent Apps’ screen and the app drawer are also the same ones found on other Android devices with stock Lollipop OS.
Based on my experience, I think both Alcatel smartphones perform really well with their UIs. However, between the 2, I’ve gotta say that the UI of Alcatel Flash Plus is actually better than the stock UI of Alcatel Flash 2. And I have many reasons to back up that argument.
First of all, I love how the app icons and stock wallpapers on Alcatel Flash Plus look really sharp and more pleasing to look at. And this totally makes the experience of using this phone feel more enjoyable than on Alcatel Flash 2.
The other strength found on Alcatel Flash Plus is the fact that this phone offers much bigger RAM in default than Alcatel Flash 2 (after the first boot up). And this is really weird because most of Android devices with stock UIs are supposedly better in RAM management than the ones with heavily-customized Android UIs.
But apparently, that’s not the case here. The amount of RAM provided by Alcatel Flash Plus in default is around 1.5GB (from the overall 2GB). And this always happens after I reboot the phone. On the other hand, the available RAM provided in default by Alcatel Flash 2 is actually only around 1GB.
However, there is still one weakness found on the UI of Alcatel Flash Plus, which is actually the strength on Alcatel Flash 2. And that is the ‘Recent Apps’ screen.
So on the ‘Recent Apps’ screen of Flash Plus, all the recent apps are shown in really small app icons in circle shape. And this makes closing every app feel a lot harder because the app icons are really small to reach and also pretty hard to swipe.
This is way different than the stock Android Lollipop OS of Alcatel Flash 2 which has the standard ‘Recent Apps’ screen. So switching and swiping every app is much easier to do because the apps are shown in large square thumbnails.
Cameras
When it comes to camera, based on my experience, I think Alcatel Flash Plus is way more superior than Alcatel Flash 2.
They both may come with the same 13MP cameras on the back, but in terms of sharpness and overall quality, it’s actually the rear camera on Alcatel Flash Plus that can produce better and much sharper photos than its younger sibling.
And it also happens on the front-facing camera of Alcatel Flash Plus, which takes decent and sharper photos than Alcatel Flash 2.
But there’s nothing so weird about that given that Alcatel Flash Plus is equipped with a higher 8MP camera, compared to Alcatel Flash 2 that only features a 5MP camera on the front.
As a result, the photos taken with the front-facing camera of Alcatel Flash Plus look much sharper and better in overall quality, compared to the photos on Alcatel Flash 2 that are plagued with a lot of noise and they also look grainy like wet painting, especially if we zoom in the photos. And this always happens on all the photos taken with Alcatel Flash 2.
However, there’s still one great thing found on Alcatel Flash 2 compared to Alcatel Flash Plus. And that is the support of LED flash on the front camera, besides on the rear. So it’s going to help a lot for taking selfies at night in low light.
According to what I heard from its users, the cameras of Alcatel Flash 2 actually can take decent and sharp photos. But it only happens when this phone was still running on the firmware version 2.9 and 3.2. Sadly, the quality of its cameras depreciates significantly after it got updated to the firmware version 3.8.
The good news is, according to users, the camera quality of Alcatel Flash 2 is now much improved after it gets updated to Android Marshmallow OS with the firmware version 1.8. Unfortunately, since this update, its front camera now looks really dark when used on video calling apps like Skype. Hopefully Alcatel will fix this soon.
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As a more expensive smartphone, of course Alcatel Flash Plus should have more powerful performance than Alcatel Flash 2. And that’s what exactly happens here because Alcatel Flash Plus is indeed a more superior performer than Flash 2.
The difference of gaming performance between these 2 devices can be seen when both smartphones are deployed with one heavy PSP game called ‘Prince of Persia: Rival Swords’.
For your information, this game is actually the exact port of ‘Prince of Persia: Two Thrones’ from old-gen consoles. So all the graphics, animations, cut scenes, storyline, missions and everything in this game is the same one found on the console version.
When playing this game using an app called ‘PPSPP’ (PSP emulator), you can totally see that Alcatel Flash Plus is capable to perform much smoother and this game can be played without any problem.
However, on Alcatel Flash 2, using the same PSP game file (ROM), this game apparently was plagued with many lags here and there in the gameplay.
Meanwhile the graphics also looked distorted and couldn’t be shown perfectly. There was some part of this game that also suffered from errors and it prevented me from continuing to the next area/level.
This is actually not really surprising for me because Alcatel Flash Plus is powered by a more powerful Mali T-760 GPU, compared to Mali T-720 GPU found inside Alcatel Flash 2, which is on the lower level of graphical performance.
Based on my experience, I’ve already played many games on Alcatel Flash Plus, including PSP and even SNES/GBA games using game emulators from Google Play Store.
From GTA Vice City, Dead Trigger, Dead Space, Modern Combat 4, Modern Combat 5, Asphalt 8: Airborne, Minion Rush, Unkilled, Prince of Persia: Rival Swords (PSP), Splinter Cell: Essentials (PSP), PES 2014 (PSP) and even Donkey Kong Country series – and they all performed really smooth without any lag whatsoever.
Meanwhile, on Alcatel Flash 2, I’ve also already tried many games on this device. All GTA games from GTA III to GTA Liberty City Stories worked really great and smooth on this phone. Meanwhile, other games like PES 2014 (PSP), Splinter Cell: Essentials (PSP), Asphalt 8: Airborne, Need for Speed: No Limits and Max Payne also performed well without any problem.
Unfortunately, as I said above, Prince of Persia: Rival Swords (PSP), even though this game worked great, there were some errors found in the graphics and enemies which prevented me from continuing to the next area/level.
Overall, I’m actually quite impressed by the gaming performances of both smartphones.
Alcatel Flash Plus may come as the winner here as the better more powerful gaming device, but the gaming performance delivered by Alcatel Flash 2 is still mesmerizing to see especially given that this phone only costs around $150.
Besides, all GTA games worked perfectly and smoothly on Alcatel Flash 2, even in the highest graphics. So I think this is more than enough to conclude that this phone is a great gaming smartphone.
Anyway guys, if you want to know more about their gaming performances, including what games that will run on these Alcatel smartphones, check out my YouTube video playlist or Pinterest page. :)Battery Life
There are many great things that I really love from both smartphones. One of them is definitely their battery lives. Alcatel Flash Plus comes with a larger 3500mAh battery, while Alcatel Flash 2 is powered by a smaller 3000mAh battery.
But this is as expected because Alcatel Flash 2 is using a 5-inch screen, which is smaller than the 5.5-inch display found on its sibling. So no wonder if Alcatel Flash Plus comes with a bigger battery.
However, in the real world performance, the battery lives of both smartphones are relatively great and equal, even in heavy use.
Both smartphones always managed to survive from 6AM to 7/8 PM in the evening if I’m using any of them in heavy use. But of course, in moderate use, you can always count on them to last all day even 2 days without needing to recharge during the day.
My Personal Opinions
From my experience of using both smartphones, I’ve gotta say that Alcatel Flash Plus and Alcatel Flash 2 are equally great overall. Of course, Alcatel Flash Plus is more superior than its sibling given its higher price tag.
It has better cameras, its screen looks more gorgeous and it’s also more elegant with its chamfered-edge design and glossy gold finish.
However, as a more affordable smartphone, Alcatel Flash 2 is actually not too shabby at all compared to Alcatel Flash Plus.
As a matter of fact, based on my 5-month experience of using this phone, I think Alcatel Flash 2 deserves to be positioned in mid-end smartphone market instead of low-end segment. Its specs are even more powerful than other phones on mid-end market.
I love its unique elegant design, its front-facing LED flash, its gorgeous display, its powerful performance, its reliable battery life, its 4G LTE internet connectivity and this phone is also really pleasing and convenient to hold in the hand.
It’s really thin and light in weight. And the most importantly, it’s not plagued with any overheating issue, despite its powerful performance.
Alcatel Flash Plus and Alcatel Flash 2 are also really amazing for playing games. Their Mali T-760 and Mali T-720 GPUs (respectively) are more than adequate to handle today’s Android games, even PSP games.
And they are also really amazing in battery life. So you can totally count on any of them to accommodate your gaming needs every day.
Bottom line, these 2 Alcatel Flash Plus and Flash 2 are just great quality smartphones overall. And you won’t regret it if you buy any of them.
But if you have an extra cash in your budget, I strongly recommend you to pick up the latest-gen Alcatel Flash Plus 2 because it’s just far better than these 2 smartphones.
Or maybe, you can wait a bit longer until this November because I heard that Alcatel Flash 3 will arrive soon on the market and it's way more powerful than even Alcatel Flash Plus 2.
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